Daily Current Affairs 14th April 2020 iasshiksha.com/daily-current-affair/daily-current-affairs-14th-april-2020/
Today’s Important Topic’s For UPSC Preparation 1. MGNREGA JOBS CRASH TO 1% OF NORMAL. 2. FLOOR TEST IS GOVERNOR’S DISCRETION. 3. 1.27 LAKH VOLUNTEERS OFFER SERVICES. 4. WATER FROM GANGA YAMUNA BEING TESTED. 5. FRAI URGES PM TO ALLOW PETTY SHOPS TO OPEN. 6. FESTIVE SPIRIT BRINGS CHEER TO ASSAM.
MGNREGA JOBS CRASH TO 1% OF NORMAL MGNREGA: Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), also known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) is Indian legislation enacted on August 25, 2005. The MGNREGA provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage. The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments. This act was introduced with an aim of improving the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living below poverty line in rural India. An additional 50 days of wage employment are provided over and above 100 days in the notified drought affected areas or natural calamity areas in the country on recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Ministry also mandates the provision of additional 50 days of wage employment to every Scheduled Tribe Household in a forest area, provided that these households have no other private property except for the land rights provided under the FRA Act, 2006. Wage rates for workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 are notified annually based on Consumer Price Index-Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) by the Central Government in accordance with the provisions of section 6(1) of the MGNREGA. 1/17
It is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’. Within 15 days of submitting the application or from the day work is demanded, wage employment will be provided to the applicant. MGNREGA focuses on the economic and social empowerment of women. MGNREGA provides “Green” and “Decent” work. Social Audit of MGNREGA works is mandatory, which lends to accountability and transparency. MGNREGA works address the climate change vulnerability and protect the farmers from such risks and conserve natural resources. The Gram Sabha is the principal forum for wage seekers to raise their voices and make demands. It is the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat which approves the shelf of works under MGNREGA and fix their priority.
Why in News? Employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has collapsed to just over 1% of the usual rate this month due to the COVID-19 lockdown. 2/17
1.9 Lakh Families: Data from the MGNREGA website show that less than 1.9 lakh families have been provided work under the scheme so far in April 2020. In comparison to almost 1.6 crore households which were provided work in March, and the 1.8 crore households employed under the scheme in February before the lockdown began. Chhattisgarh was the highest employment generator under the scheme in April, providing work to more than 70,000 families. Followed by Andhra Pradesh with more than 53,000 households given work.
Key Source: The scheme, which guarantees 100 days of work per year at an average daily wage of â‚š209, is key to providing livelihoods to poor villagers. It is a backbone of the rural economy in difficult times. Overall, 7.6 crore families hold active job cards under the scheme, and almost 5.5 crore families found work under the scheme last year. The crash in employment rates under the scheme is despite the fact that migrant workers returning to villages should have increased demand in rural areas.
FLOOR TEST IS GOVERNOR’S DISCRETION Floor Test: 3/17
According to Article 75 (3) and Article 164 of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the House of the People. When a legislative assembly passes no-confidence motion against the council of ministers, the government of the day dissolves. In a nutshell, floor test is essentially a vote of confidence. The floor test helps determine whether the government of the day continues to enjoy majority support of the legislature. When a floor test is called for in the assembly of a state, the chief minister will move a vote of confidence and prove that he has the majority support. If the floor test fails, the chief minister will have to resign. A Governor can call for a floor test any time he objectively feels a government in power has lost the confidence of the House and is on shaky ground. In a judgment, a Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta concluded that a Governor can call for a trust vote if he has arrived at a prima facie opinion, based on objective material, that the incumbent State government has lost its majority in the Assembly.
Trust Vote: A confidence motion, or a vote of confidence, or a trust vote, is sought by the government in power on the floor of the House. The idea underlying the trust vote is to uphold the political accountability of the elected government to the State legislature. In directing a trust vote, the Governor does not favour a particular political party. It is inevitable that the specific timing of a trust vote may tilt the balance towards the party possessing a majority at the time the trust vote is directed. All political parties are equally at risk of losing the support of their elected legislators, just as the legislators are at risk of losing the vote of the electorate. This is how the system of parliamentary governance operates,” Justice Chandrachud observed. The intention behind a trust vote was to enable the elected representatives to determine if the Council of Ministers commanded the confidence of the House. It was the MLAs, and not the Governor, who made the ultimate call whether a government should stay in power or not, the court said. It said that a Governor’s power to call for a floor test is not restricted only before the inception of a State government immediately after elections, but continues throughout its term. The court clarified that the Governor’s requirement to have a trust vote does not “short-circuit” any disqualification proceedings pending before the Speaker. It said a Governor need not wait for the Speaker’s decision on the resignation of rebel MLAs before calling for a trust vote.
Difference between Trust Vote, Floor Test and No-confidence Motion:
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Trust Vote
Floor Test
No- Confidence Motion
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· A confidence motion or a trust vote is a procedure for the government to prove its majority in the House. · A trust vote can take place by way of a motion of confidence which is moved by the government or brought by the opposition. · It is a motion normally proposed by the Prime Minister to test the majority in the Lok Sabha. Such an exercise normally takes place when a new government is set to be formed. Any party will first have to prove its majority on the floor of the House before taking over. · A trust vote can also be brought about if a government resigns and another party stakes a claim to form the government.
· The floor test is a term used for the test of the majority. If there are doubts against the chief minister, the governor can ask him to prove his majority in the House. · In case of a coalition government, the chief minister may be asked to move a vote of confidence and win a majority.
· A No-confidence motion is usually moved by the opposition when it feels that the ruling government does not enjoy a majority in the House any longer. No reason is required to move such a motion. · A no-confidence motion can be moved by any member of the house and can be done only in the Lok Sabha and not the Rajya Sabha. Such a motion is moved under Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure. · A member has to give written notice of the motion before 10 am, which is then read out by the Speaker of the House. · A minimum of 50 members have to accept the motion and the Speaker would accordingly announce the date for the discussion on the motion. · In case the government fails to prove its majority, then the government has to resign.
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1.27 LAKH VOLUNTEERS OFFER SERVICES NDMA: Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs National Disaster Management Authority, abbreviated as NDMA, is an apex Body of Government of India, with a mandate to lay down policies for disaster management. NDMA was established through the Disaster Management Act enacted by the Government of India on 23 December 2005. NDMA is responsible for framing policies, laying down guidelines and bestpractices for coordinating with the State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) to ensure a holistic and distributed approach to disaster management. It is headed by the Prime Minister of India and can have up to nine other members. Since 2014, there have been four other members. There is a provision to have a Vice Chair-person if needed. NDMA has a vision to “build a safer and disaster resilient India by a holistic, proactive, technology driven and sustainable development strategy that involves all stakeholders and fosters a culture of prevention, preparedness and mitigation. It works closely with the National Institute of Disaster Management for capacity building. 7/17
It develops practices, delivers hands-on training and organizes drills for disaster management. It also equips and trains disaster management cells at the state and local levels.
Why in News? More than 1.27 lakh individuals and 5,300 organisations have so far registered themselves as volunteers with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for the fight against COVID-19. The NDMA has also received donation offers for more than 8.35 lakh items including digital infrared thermometers, digital thermal scanners (full body), masks, gloves, sanitisers and personal protective gear. The Authority, through its subordinate and State bodies, is monitoring all the operations associated with the measures being taken at the ground level. NCC students have been helping the local administrations in extending help to the needy and spreading awareness about the preventive measures to be taken to arrest the spread.
Online Courses: The Department of Personnel and Training, in coordination with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, has already come up with online courses on the pandemic for the frontline workers. These courses are meant for doctors, nurses, paramedics, hygiene workers, technicians, auxiliary nursing midwives, State government and civil defence officials. The Health Ministry has also been issuing specific guidelines on healthcare facilities and treatment. The Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) courses are available on the Diksha platform, both for the laptop/desktop and mobile phone users. 8/17
The launch of iGOT platform was fast-forwarded as requested by the respective Empowered Group of Officers to prevent the spread of infection among, and through, the frontline workers.
WATER FROM GANGA YAMUNA BEING TESTED NMCG: Ministry: Ministry of Jalshakti Department: Department of water resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) was registered as a society on 12th August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860. It acted as implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986. NGRBA has since been dissolved with effect from the 7th October 2016, consequent to constitution of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga. The Act envisages five tier structure at national, state and district level to take measures for prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water so as to rejuvenate the river Ganga as below: (1)
National Ganga Council under chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
(2) Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation). (3)
National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG).
(4)
State Ganga Committees and
(5) District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga and its tributaries in the states. NMCG has a two tier management structure and comprises of Governing Council and Executive Committee. Both of them are headed by Director General, NMCG. Executive Committee has been authorized to accord approval for all projects up to Rs.1000 crore. 9/17
Similar to structure at national level, State Programme Management Groups (SPMGs) acts as implementing arm of State Ganga Committees. Thus the newly created structure attempts to bring all stakeholders on one platform to take a holistic approach towards the task of Ganga cleaning and rejuvenation.
River Ganga: The Ganges or Ganga is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,601 km (1,616 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of India and Bangladesh, eventually emptying into the Bay of Bengal. It rises from the Gangotri glacier near Gaumukh (3,900 m) in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Here, it is known as the Bhagirathi. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda; then after, it is known as the Ganga. Major tributaries → Yamuna, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, Kosi, Son, Tons & Punpun.
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Why in News? 11/17
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) — the arm of the Water Ministry tasked with directing the ₹20,000 crore clean-up of the Ganga — and the Central Pollution Control Board are expected to find out in 10 days. Water samples have been collected from Delhi (Yamuna) and all Ganga basin States, and are in the process of being analysed. While this was also part of the routine water quality monitoring in the river, there was a “special focus” on the impact of lockdown.
Lockdown Impact: Measuring the degree of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonium nitrate would point to whether the lockdown has had an impact. Effluents from industries as well as sewage discharge would impact COD levels. There are some preliminary indications that the water looks cleaner but a proper analysis is awaited. The stoppage of industrial pollutants has definitely had a positive effect on water quality in the Yamuna.
Chemical Oxygen Demand: In environmental chemistry, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) is an indicative measure of the amount of oxygen that can be consumed by reactions in a measured solution. It is commonly expressed in mass of oxygen consumed over volume of solution which in SI units is milligrams per litre (mg/L). A COD test can be used to easily quantify the amount of organics in water. The most common application of COD is in quantifying the amount of oxidizable pollutants found in surface water (e.g. lakes and rivers) or waste water. COD is useful in terms of water quality by providing a metric to determine the effect an effluent will have on the receiving body, much like biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).
Why Measure COD? COD is used as a general indicator of water quality and is an integral part of all water quality management programs. Additionally, COD is often used to estimate BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) as a strong correlation exists between COD and BOD, however COD is a much faster, more accurate test.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand: BOD is the amount of dissolved oxygen used by microorganisms in the biological process of metabolizing organic matter in water.
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The more organic matter there is (e.g., in sewage and polluted bodies of water), the greater the BOD; and the greater the BOD, the lower the amount of dissolved oxygen available for higher animals such as fishes. The BOD is therefore a reliable gauge of the organic pollution of a body of water. One of the main reasons for treating wastewater prior to its discharge into a water resource is to lower its BOD—i.e., reduce its need of oxygen and thereby lessen its demand from the streams, lakes, rivers, or estuaries into which it is released.
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FRAI URGES PM TO ALLOW PETTY SHOPS TO OPEN FRAI: 14/17
The Federation of Retailer Association of India (FRAI), a representative body of about 40 million micro, small and medium retailers from across the country. The members of the association sustain their livelihood by selling goods of daily needs like biscuits, soft drinks, mineral water, cigarettes, bidi, pan etc. in the neighbourhood. The profit of these micro retailers in selling these essential products works out to about Rs 15,000 per month. The closure of such shops during the lockdown has stopped the daily inflow of their income, FRAI said. According to FRAI, March to June is the most important period for small retailers to earn extra money. But while business plans have been irrevocably altered, FRAI said its members and their families are facing survival challenges.
Why in News? Ram Asre Mishra, president, FRAI, appealed to the Prime Minister to empathise with the hardships faced by our poor and helpless individual members and allow them to open their shops immediately.� Also appealed to the PM to immediately announce an economic package to compensate for the losses of petty retailers in daily income.
FESTIVE SPIRIT BRINGS CHEER TO ASSAM Bihu: Bihu is a set of three important Assamese festivals in the Indian state of Assam— (1)
Rongali or Bohag Bihu observed in April,
(2)
Kongali or Kati Bihu observed in October, and
(3)
Bhogali or Magh Bihu observed in January. The Rongali Bihu is the most important of the three, celebrating spring festival. The term Bihu is also used to imply Bihu dance otherwise called Bihu Naas and Bihu folk songs also called Bihu Geet. Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu also called Xaat Bihu is a festival celebrated in the Indian state of Assam and other parts of northeastern India. It marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year. It usually falls in the 2nd week of April, historically signifying the time of harvest.
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Why in News? Assam on Monday began celebrating its firstever Bohag or Rongali Bihu without rong, meaning merriment, because of the COVID19 lockdown. But the reopening of liquor outlets lifted the “festive spirits” for some across the State. The Excise Department on Sunday, the eve of the essentially most boisterous of three Bihus in Assam, approved the opening of all IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) shops, bonded warehouses, bottling plants, distilleries and breweries across the State for limited hours from Monday.
WORDS OF THE DAY Prima Facie: Based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise.
Merriment: An occasion when people laugh or have an enjoyable time together. 16/17
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